Apexium Financial LP Takes $231,000 Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Apexium Financial LP acquired a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,788 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its stake in 3M by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in 3M by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after purchasing an additional 308,912 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $151.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $82.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $152.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,903 shares of company stock worth $8,082,186 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.